Guided a hike up Goodnow Mountain.  It was a lovely day for a hike.  Temps were around 70 at the base when we started and around 80 when we got back down a bit after noon.  Humidity was reasonable, and the skies were nearly cloudless.  With a small exception for the end of our stop on the peak, the bugs were not an issue.  Really a perfect day to be in the woods.

The trail starts with a nice warm-up climb to a relatively level trail, and a quick peek at the forestry study that SUNY ESF is performing.  In brief, during the winter of 2022/2023, they did a few different harvest techniques and are now studying how the forest is coming back.  I have to say, 3 years on, and having hiked it about once a year since the harvest, the land is recovering quickly.  Lots of quick growing stuff has really covered the whole area with green.

To my surprise, the mud was next to nothing on this section, which is where I fully expected us to have the worst mud.  We then turned to head up hill again and cross the study area, where we got a good view of what all was around.  We even saw what appeared to be cattails growing in there... There was a bit of water that we crossed over, mostly a trickle, but it really didn't look wet enough to support that.  Apparently looks are deceiving.  It was while crossing the study area that we ran into the only real mud... a small puddle of it that could easily be walked over without even getting your boots wet.  

The climb up to the top was very pleasant, the woods were beautiful, and around 2200 feet you could feel the forest change from deciduous to conifer forest.  There also appeared to have been a pretty good wind event in the past year where the tops of a bunch of trees were snapped off... the needles were still green, so I suspect it was this winter.  As we approached the top, there was one blowdown we had to walk around, but it was the only one we had to do that with.

At the top, it was just beautiful.  We climbed the long stair case up to the top of the refurbished tower.  I have to say, they did a wonderful job re-doing this last summer.  Much better to be on top, not having the noise of the ratchet strap in the wind trying to hold the roof on.  The views, as expected were just amazing, and you really could see everything.

This marked me passing a milestone.. I've now hiked over 1500 miles since the start of 2020.... that's about 270 miles a year!  I'm on track to hit about 300 this year though.  For the year, I'm at 181 miles with 9.26 miles up and 8.81 miles down over 136 hours.  

My boots that I got in November 2023 are still holding up great, and they have just passed 780 miles on them.  It is truly worth it to spend money on things you will use a lot.  I would be on my 2nd or 3rd pair of boots by now if I got something off the shelf at EMS, REI, or some other retail store.  If you are an avid hiker, I highly recommend Limmer Boots.  They now are carrying Women's sizes in their off the shelf boots!